ABSTRACT
Ceramic tiles are bacteriostatic materials;however, the COVID-19 emergency has pushed tile producers to improve surfaces’ antibacterial properties. The aim of this work was to validate a silver-based antibacterial treatment applied to porcelain stoneware tiles based on natural and waste materials, thus correlating surface functionalization to tile composition and relevant physical, microstructural, and textural parameters. The treatment was applied before firing, with and without a polymeric primer. Antibacterial activity tests, stain resistance tests, and contact angle measurements were carried out on fired tiles. Further investigations were made by SEM and optical profilometry in order to study the morphological–structural profile of tile surfaces. Results showed strong antibacterial activities for all the functionalized tiles, which were mainly correlated to the morphological and textural parameters of ceramic surfaces, as well as the presence of the polymeric primer.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy (CIPNM) is a frequent neurological manifestation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. CIPNM diagnosis is usually limited to clinical evaluation. We compared patients with ARDS from COVID-19 and other aetiologies, in whom a neurophysiological evaluation for the detection of CIPNM was performed. The aim was to determine if there were any differences between these two groups in frequency of CINPM and outcome at discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a single-centre retrospective study performed on mechanically ventilated patients consecutively admitted (January 2016-June 2020) to the ICU of Careggi Hospital, Florence, Italy, with ARDS of different aetiologies. Neurophysiological evaluation was performed on patients with stable ventilation parameters, but marked widespread hyposthenia (Medical Research Council score <48). Creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and mean morning glycaemic values were collected. RESULTS: From a total of 148 patients, 23 with COVID-19 infection and 21 with ARDS due to other aetiologies, underwent electroneurography/electromyography (ENG/EMG) recording. Incidence of CIPNM was similar in the two groups, 65% (15 of 23) in COVID-19 patients and 71% (15 of 21) in patients affected by ARDS of other aetiologies. At ICU discharge, subjects with CIPNM more frequently required ventilatory support, regardless the aetiology of ARDS. CONCLUSION: ENG/EMG represents a useful tool in the identification of the neuromuscular causes underlying ventilator wean failure and patient stratification. A high incidence of CIPNM, with a similar percentage, has been observed in ARDS patients of all aetiologies.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Electrodiagnosis , Muscular Diseases , Polyneuropathies , Respiration, Artificial , Respiratory Distress Syndrome , Adult , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/epidemiology , Critical Illness , Electromyography , Female , Humans , Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data , Italy/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Muscular Diseases/diagnosis , Muscular Diseases/epidemiology , Muscular Diseases/etiology , Muscular Diseases/physiopathology , Polyneuropathies/diagnosis , Polyneuropathies/epidemiology , Polyneuropathies/etiology , Polyneuropathies/physiopathology , Respiration, Artificial/statistics & numerical data , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/complications , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/epidemiology , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/etiology , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/therapy , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
On 21 February 2020, a resident of the municipality of Vo', a small town near Padua (Italy), died of pneumonia due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection1. This was the first coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19)-related death detected in Italy since the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province2. In response, the regional authorities imposed the lockdown of the whole municipality for 14 days3. Here we collected information on the demography, clinical presentation, hospitalization, contact network and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in nasopharyngeal swabs for 85.9% and 71.5% of the population of Vo' at two consecutive time points. From the first survey, which was conducted around the time the town lockdown started, we found a prevalence of infection of 2.6% (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1-3.3%). From the second survey, which was conducted at the end of the lockdown, we found a prevalence of 1.2% (95% CI: 0.8-1.8%). Notably, 42.5% (95% CI: 31.5-54.6%) of the confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections detected across the two surveys were asymptomatic (that is, did not have symptoms at the time of swab testing and did not develop symptoms afterwards). The mean serial interval was 7.2 days (95% CI: 5.9-9.6). We found no statistically significant difference in the viral load of symptomatic versus asymptomatic infections (P = 0.62 and 0.74 for E and RdRp genes, respectively, exact Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test). This study sheds light on the frequency of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, their infectivity (as measured by the viral load) and provides insights into its transmission dynamics and the efficacy of the implemented control measures.